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T O P I C R E V I E W

Jurg Bolli

Does anybody know when (day, time) the Shuttle will be ferried from Edwards to Florida?Thanks.Jurg

Robert Pearlman

I do not believe it has been decided as of yet. Weather, among other concerns, will factor into the scheduling. Traditionally, the ferrys have landed at Ellington Field and performed a flyover of JSC. I hope to be there to photograph and report on their arrival, should that occur.

christelle

Hello

Just because I'm so curious.How many pilots constitute the Ferry flights team and what are their names

Thanks

Christelle

OV-105

In the past it takes about 7 days after landing to get the orbiter ready to leave Dryden. I looked at the sign-off paperwork on the RTF page and this will be the heaviest flights to be ferried they will have to use all the mid-deck weights.

OV-105

One other thing it also depends on the weather on the flight path across the country on when they start the flight. Gordon Fullerton is one of the SCA pilots.

[This message has been edited by OV-105 (edited August 09, 2005).]

pokey

We haven't had a shuttle at Ellington in quite some time. I had a chance meeting with a someone who knows more than most about Discovery's return to KSC. I asked him about the chances of having Discovery stop by Ellington. If it can come to Houston (barring rain) it will be in El Paso then would come to Houston/Ellington Field. Lots of JSC people are very hyped about even the remote possibility of having a shuttle come through town since it's been so long and we're all in the Return to Flight spirit! I hope the weather cooperates.......

[This message has been edited by pokey (edited August 14, 2005).]

Rob Joyner

Hi Jurg!How ya doing?When Discovery comes back to KSC, will she come in from the south or north? Since the Boing has working engines, I assume she could land from either end of the landing facility.I might go down and get some video of the arrival if I knew which end she's scheduled to approach.Thanks!

OV-105

This was on Dryden's web site. I hope Edwards didn't get hit with the hail like we just did.

Space Shuttle Status Report - Sunday, August 14, 2005With turnaround processing operations now running ahead of schedule at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California, the Space Shuttle Discovery could be back at its home at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by mid-week.

Departure of the Discovery atop one of NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on its ferry flight back to Florida is expected to occur no earlier than early Tuesday, Aug. 16, although it could be later in the week.

DavidH

quote:EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to be bolted to a modified Boeing 7-47 today, the final step before the spacecraft is ferried to Florida.The mating process is expected to take about eight hours and the trip to the east coast could begin tomorrow morning.

quote:Alan Brown, a spokesman at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, said the current plan is for Discovery to be mounted atop the 747 jet on Wednesday, with takeoff coming early Thursday to begin a "somewhat serpentine" flight back to Kennedy Space Center. The trip is projected to take two days, with three refueling stops at military bases, Brown said.

The current route calls for the shuttle-carrying jet to fly cross-country over Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and points east on the way back. The precise itinerary and refueling schedule depends on the weight of the shuttle — including how much moisture Discovery's thermal blankets soaked up from the storm, Brown said.

If anybody sees the ground track or has any ideas where it might fly over, let me know. I have a friend in Mississippi who says he's pretty sure the Shuttle has flown over his town before, and he'd love to see it again if it's passing over again.

[This message has been edited by collectSPACE Admin (edited August 20, 2005).]

Ben

Discovery's ferry flight began at 8:32am PT this morning from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Discovery and the STA will make two stops, the first in just under 20 minutes at Altus AFB in Oklahoma fo refueling; the second in Barksdale AFB, Louisiana for the night. It is scheduled to land back at KSC tomorrow mid-day.

Discovery, left Barksdale AFB, La., at about 7:20 a.m. EDT and arrived at Kennedyâ€™s Shuttle Landing Facility at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Brevard County residents were able to see the shuttle riding atop the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft as it circled for a landing.

OV-105

Now that we have had the Ferry flight this brings up an old question I have had for a long time. How do they get the tail cone back to Dryden? Anyone know and how many tail cones do they have? I would think two.

karlitko

I guess they use JSC Aircraft Ops' Super Guppy for tail cone transport.

karlitko

I have to correct my previous post.Although the tail cone could probably fit into Super Guppy's belly, the truth is much more prosaic:Once the Shuttle is returned to the Kennedy Space Center, the tailcone is removed and partially disassembled into five major sections. Those sections are then placed in specially-designed containers and loaded on trucks which then transport the tailcone overland back to the Dryden Flight Research Center. Once all the sections have arrived at Dryden, the tailcone is then reassembled and placed on a storage fixture until its next use.